


Ink On Skin

by kit_astrophe



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 12:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30105963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kit_astrophe/pseuds/kit_astrophe
Summary: Hi! This is an improved repost of an older story I started writing and want to come back to. Please leave a comment/kudos if you enjoy, I really appreciate it! <3
Relationships: Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley
Kudos: 4





	Ink On Skin

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is an improved repost of an older story I started writing and want to come back to. Please leave a comment/kudos if you enjoy, I really appreciate it! <3

Luna groaned; the neighbour was playing their screeching music again. The walls of her apartment were paper thin so she could hear almost everything that went on in the apartment next to her, even the snoring at night. Although, she was certain that whoever her neighbour was could hear every noise she made too. She tried her best to be quiet and her dog, Bee, was very gentle but.. the neighbour seemed to have given the concept of quietness no thought at all as they played their music at full volume most nights. Luna tried to ignore it, plugging in her headphones and putting her playlist on shuffle as she started to make dinner.

Dinner for Luna, on most occasions, was just some toast and soup or a microwave meal. Tonight it was homemade mac and cheese. Bee, a gorgeous golden retriever with eyes as soft as silk, lingered around Luna's feet as she cooked, sniffing the air and wagging her tail in excitement whenever a small piece of food fell to the floor. Whenever she could, Luna would always choose to cook something. She was well known in her family for being the only decent cook.

Platinum hair tied back in a ponytail that swished as she danced around the kitchen (although this was a struggle as the kitchen itself was the size of a small fridge), Luna started dishing her food up onto a plate before carrying it over to her table. It was a little wooden table, clumsily painted white, made out of some old palette wood. Plants sprawled themselves across one side from the windowsill, flower vines clinging onto the edges as if desperate to one day make it onto Luna's plate. 

The plants in her house had a mind of their own. They took up more space than any of her other stuff, crawling into corners and squeezing into any blank spaces on her desk or shelves. Global warming was considerably lessened by simply the number of plants that she managed to fit into her tiny apartment. Luna cared for them like they were her children: waking up at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise as she watered them all, giving the more leafy varieties trims every few weeks. It was like her second job. Her first job wasn't much different, though.

Luna worked as a florist in the shop below her flat, selling bouquets and potted plants and little bonsai trees to the locals and helping to design the perfect arrangement of flowers for weddings and parties. It was a glorious job to have, in her eyes, to make people so happy and to bring the wonderful nature of plants to people's lives. She opened the shop when she was only 19, naming it " _ Flo's _ " after her grandmother, who had always been known for her adoration of the natural world. The window display was changed weekly but the same tree always stayed in its spot in the shopfront: the money tree her grandmother gave her for her 10th birthday, 2 weeks before she passed away. It was like keeping a piece of her spirit around and proved to be a comfort for Luna through any hard times that came upon her.

Her shop was the first of many along the street, although she only had one neighbour. She had never seen them but had never felt the urge to pop in and say hello or invite them over for a cup of tea. The shop next to  _ Flo's  _ was a tattoo parlour that went by the name of " _ Ink Me Up _ ", fully equipped with a neon flashing skull hanging in the window and a glossy black door. Compared to Luna's carousel pastel themed flower shop, the violent and dark ambience around the tattoo parlour wasn't very inviting. Although she had to admit that she was curious to see what this person looked like. Obviously, she had created a mental image of them (entirely based on stereotypes, but what else did she have to go by?) and had imagined them to be a man with black hair and tired eyes, clad in all black. Something told her that they wouldn't be like that at all, however.

She realised suddenly that she had zoned out, distracted by the thought of the mysterious neighbour, and hadn't noticed the absence of screaming music coming from next door. Her plate was empty and Bee was nowhere to be found, so Luna could only assume that her food had been swiftly stolen from her while she was distracted. Carrying her plate back into the kitchen and placing it in the sink, she yawned. It was just past 10 and she had to be up early the next day to open the shop so she decided to head to bed. Luna's bare feet padded on the beech wooden floor, the sound of Bee's claws tapping on it trailing behind her.

The walls of her room were painted a gentle sky blue, with some wispy clouds of white painted on by her father the last time he had visited. Little shelves stuck out here and there, plant pots overflowing with leaves hanging from the ceiling and filling the space on her windowsill. A glass door that led out to a small balcony stood open, allowing a cool night's breeze to tug at Luna's dress as she entered the room. She soon took off her dress (a floaty, lilac one with some fake daisies around the waist) and replaced it with an oversized t-shirt and some comfy underwear. She had never really owned proper pyjamas as she didn't feel the need to buy them if no one would see them.

As she snuggled down under the covers, after having locked the door, of course, she felt a pool of warmth on her feet. Bee had curled himself up into a ball, breathing in and out steadily through his little nose. Luna flicked off the lamp next to her bed, rolled onto her side and felt herself drifting into a dreamland filled with cotton candy clouds and sandy beaches far away.

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Rolling over onto her back, Luna fought to keep her eyes shut. It didn't take much longer for her to give up and open her eyes, squinting into the darkness of her room. The clock on her wall said it was 3:17 am. She groaned to herself, sitting upright and pulling the hairband out of her hair. All hope of getting back to sleep had escaped from her now so she decided to venture onto her balcony for a while. She stood up and fumbled her way over to the door.

The metal handle was cold against her pale skin but the door swung open almost without a touch. The fresh breeze rustled Luna's hair, goosebumps running across her arms as she leant against the icy fencing that stopped her from falling. The stars were beautiful. She had spent many sleepless nights out on her balcony, alone, thinking to herself and losing track of time as she traced the patterns in the natural fairy lights above her. It gave her space to breathe.

She often found herself hyperaware of her surroundings, each individual leaf on the trees and the tiny creatures that lived within its branches seeming to come out of hiding for her to see, but tonight Luna lost focus of the world. Her mind was drifting curiously to the thought of her neighbour again. She had nothing else to guess what they would be like so it was all pointless speculation but... What if they were a girl? Would they have freckles and a cute smile and wear lots of hoodies? Or would they be covered from head to toe in ink, making themselves vulnerable to the world by painting their story on their skin? A faint blush rose to Luna's cheeks as she wondered to herself, a glazed look coming over her eyes.

"The stars are beautiful, aren't they? You fit right in out here." The sudden disturbance of the voice made Luna's head snap to her right, a gasp struggling its way out of her throat as it closed up and she stumbled back a little.

A girl stood in the balcony next to hers, separated only by a small space between them. Her blue eyes reflected the night sky, twinkling with laughter as two peachy lips curled up and spread to reveal pearly teeth. She was.. breathtaking. Luna suddenly remembered her scruffy appearance and rushed to pull her shirt down in an attempt to hide her underwear from the beautiful stranger. "U-um... I.."

"God, you're adorable when you blush." The girl ran a hand through her matted, ginger hair, smirking at Luna as more blood flew to her cheeks. "I'm Ginny, I work in the shop downstairs."

All Luna could do was nod and look down at her feet in embarrassment. This was her neighbour - the one that played the screaming music and owned the tattoo parlour and snored in her sleep? She realised that Ginny had turned away from her, her head craning up to look at the velvet sky. "I'm, uh... Luna. I own  _ Flo's _ ." She responded. Could Ginny tell that she had been thinking about her?

They stood in silence for a while, taking comfort in the sound of each other's gentle breathing. Luna kept stealing glances in Ginny's direction, running her eyes over her smooth, porcelain skin and studying the permanent ink on her arms. Her focus drifted to Ginny's face, her breath hitching in her throat as she scanned over her makeup-less face. Luna looked up slightly and met Ginny's eyes, realising that she had been watching her the whole time. A blush danced across her cheeks again as she became incredibly flustered.

"...What?" Ginny questioned, a smile crawling onto her lips. Luna curled up into herself.

"I.. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. I was just.." She trailed off, realising she had no excuse and hiding her face behind curtains of hair. "You're really pretty."

Ginny shook her head, laughing softly. It felt like they were the only two people in the whole world. "I see you out here a lot, y'know, you always seem so at ease. Now that I'm out here too, though," She paused for a moment, locking eyes with Luna. "The moonlight really brings out the colour of your eyes."

Luna once again turned bright red, covering her face with her hands and laughing slightly. "Uh... I didn't realise you could see me out here. I thought everyone else would be asleep."

"Nah, my sleep schedule is screwed." Ginny laughed, shaking her head and looking down into the tiny car park behind both of their houses. Her old, bashed up Ford looked even worse next to what she now knew was Luna's green Beatle. "I actually, uh... I actually draw you sometimes, when you hang around out here. You look so angelic - something about the blonde hair really adds to it."

Luna glanced over at her, feeling shocked, embarrassed and flattered all at once. "Oh... really?" Silence lingered between them for a moment. "I'd love to see sometime. My grandma always used to draw."

Ginny nodded. "Just remind me to find my sketchbook! Were you and your grandma close?"

"Very." She sighed, unsure whether to delve more into the topic or not. Eventually, she caved a little. "She died when I was young, but I named the shop after her. That tree in the front window was a gift from her a few weeks before she died."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Her eyes glistened in the moonlight and Ginny decided not to push any further; it was late and that was clearly a sensitive subject for Luna. Somewhere far away, a car revved in the street. It must have been nearly morning. Luna heard Ginny sigh, a cloud of warm air escaping from her mouth like cigarette smoke, and turned to face her. "It was nice to finally meet you."

Ginny nodded, smiling. "You too, flower girl."

And with that, Ginny disappeared inside. Luna stood waiting for a while, taking in the last of the night sky before the sun's light made the stars disappear again. The cold air dried her face from any tears that slipped out. Finally, as the faint golden light seeping out through Ginny's curtains next door flickered off, Luna decided it was time to return to bed.


End file.
